Discovery's Shark Week gets bigger

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Patrick Kevin Day

Discovery Channel's popular annual celebration of all things shark is returning for its 26th year, and this year it's debuting more shark-related programming than ever. As Chief Brody of "Jaws" would say, "You're gonna need a bigger DVR."

This year's Shark Week will debut 11 new shark specials, up from eight last year. In addition, the first-ever late-night shark talk show, titled "Shark After Dark," will air every night during Shark Week. Sort of like "The Talking Dead," the new talk show will feature clips from Shark Week programming, surprise guests and shark experts.

Another new aspect of Shark Week is the Shark Cam, a robotic submarine designed to track sharks underwater. The footage will be incorporated into the special, "Return of Jaws," which follows great white sharks living and feeding off the shores of Cape Cod.

Other specials scheduled for the week include "Sharkpocalypse," about sharks moving closer to the shores of populated areas; "Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives," about a hunt for a killer shark off the coast of South Africa; "I Escaped Jaws," using actual shark attack footage combined with the survivors telling their stories; "Voodoo Sharks," about bull sharks living in the bayous of Louisiana; "Great White Serial Killer," about the investigation behind two fatal shark attacks near Vandenberg Air Force Base in California; "Air Jaws: Beyond the Breach," following up on the sharks seen in last year's "Air Jaws"; "Spawn of Jaws," about the life cycle of the Great White; "The Great White Gauntlet," about the dangers of abalone diving; "Top 10 Sharkdown" and "Alien Monster Sharks" about the strangest sharks on the planet.

The week of programming dedicated to sharks has become a bit of a pop cultural event for Discovery, which originally intended it to raise awareness and respect for sharks.